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Persephone Barca
Persephone Barca was the daughter of Lord Thanatos Barca and Lady Nyx Barca in Illunii. Her desire to see the world outside led her to leave the Celenian Forest and head for Etheril where she disappeared. At first seen as a headstrong damsel in need of help, she later turned out to be a cunning albeit insane necromancer who had sided with the Eastern Horde and plotted with Jezebeth, which led to the Battle of Illunii. She broke free from jail later on, participated in the Battle of Malperdy, played a part in the kidnapping of Marcus Sarillius in Alent and helped bring her mother back to life as a revenant. Persephone attemped to goad Unithien Greyrain and Varalia Earthhaven to work with her after confronting them aboard the Moldy Crow during the Battle of Devilfish Strait, but she was killed by Unithien who refused her offer. Biography Early Years Pride and Ambition Persephone was born as the daughter of Thanatos Barca and Nyx Barca into a high elf family, the House of Barca, in Illunii. She had the best tutors and inherited her father's cunning, learning from an early age how the family were inheritors of the ancient Stormborn cult and how she was from a long line of necromancers, a tradition which her father was secretly trying to revive in the present age to match its former glory years of ages past. Over time Persephone grew tired of her father's over-protective attitude, however, and became more and more interested in seeing the human world outside her home forest. Her curiosity led her to study necromancy in secret when her parents were busy dealing with courtly intrigue in Illunii. By the time the Faerfolc Rampage ended and several Faerfolc took over Illunii from the Celenian elves who became their subjects, Persephone had already had several decades to study forbidden tomes and learn much of the necromantic craft. During this time she got to know Geras Sylevar, a member of the Illunii rangers, who shared her passion to return elvenkind to the high position it had once held in the Land of the Living. Sylevar introduced Persephone to what he referred to as the Dwarven Triad, an underworld society of thieves, assassins and spies who had great plans for necromancy and what a role gifted people with respected bloodline like Persephone could play in it. An alliance was made, Sylevar allowing himself to be ordered by Persephone who had nobler blood than he did. Sylevar told her much of what he had learned of the world outside the forest, including a cult known as the Totenkopfs which the Triad had been working with for some time by then. Persephone's life took an even more interesting turn desire when she befriended the family's new servant Jezebeth who told her stories she had heard in the lower districts of llunii. Persephone was attracted to Jezebeth and had an affair with her, and eventually Jezebeth revealed that she wasn't an elf at all but a demon who had seen the darkness and vast potential in Persephone by having observed her for months. Persephone, in part affected by Jezebeth's persuasive whispers, kept their affair secret as any relationship between a highborn and a lowly servant, especially a demon, would've been seen as scandalous among the high elves. Persephone introduced Sylevar and Jezebeth to one another, and each realized that they could accomplish more if they pooled their resources together. Thus another alliance was made out of necessity and desire, Jezebeth providing information from the lower districts of Illunii and from the servant caste, Sylevar spying on the rangers and keeping an eye on events outside Illunii, and Persephone keeping an eye on the activities of highborn elves. During this time men, elves and dwarves dressed in dark robes appeared in the forest, bringing a strange sickness with them. They were quickly cut down by the Celenian rangers and the rangers' strict captain, but Sylevar, who had been promoted to lieutenant by then, managed to gather enough intel to deliver to Persephone: the slain men had in fact been Totenkopfs, and their appearance in the forest meant that the time Sylevar's allies had foreseen was finally at hand and the Triad's great plan had at long last been set in motion. Persephone began studying forbidden tomes even more; the more she learned, the more spells she could use and thus gain an upper hand in future conflicts. However, toying with dark magic had a heavy toll on her mind slowly but surely, not helped by Jezebeth's demonic influence, and Persephone began showing not all that natural symptoms of an illness she had had lingering within but which hadn't surfaced until now: madness. Descent into Darkness The life in Illunii changed when a woman and four men trespassed on Celenian lands in search of knowledge. The woman, a Sinlarine necromancer called Deidra Finian, was caught along with her guardians and was brought to the Eternal Court for questioning as the rangers suspected she might have something to do with the earlier trespassers. The Faerfolc sentenced Deidra to stay in the city forever in order to keep its secrets safe from the outside world. Thanatos, who had become curious after he had witnessed Deidra's magic, asked to take her under his custody so that he could learn what she knew and inform the Court of his findings. He was allowed to take Deidra in, and from that point on Deidra became a permanent guest in the Barca household as she got to know the Barca family but also many of the servants, Jezebeth included. Persephone was eager to learn more about necromancy from Deidra, but the toll of dark magic was already heavy on her mind, so she acted erratically at times. This didn't go unnoticed by Deidra who informed Thanatos of what she had learned about Persephone's illness although Thanatos was far too obsessed by his studies of necromancy and his deepening bond with Deidra to pay more attention to his daughter. Persephone discovered during this time that Deidra and Thanatos had begun having an affair and that Nyx might've also been aware of it although she hadn't done anything about it. Angered by her father's unfaithfulness towards her mother, Persephone acted with fury when she witnessed Deidra and Thanatos kissing one night. She left them and lashed out with her dark magic, which ended up killing Nyx. Although this was seen as a horrible sign of her deteriorating mind, it also served another purpose: as much as Persephone cared for her parents, she had learned that only their sacrifices would ensure her ascension to the Queen of Necromancers. Nyx's death was a necessary step to not only liberate her from her life which had been shackled to Thanatos but also to set the stage for an elaborate plan in which Jezebeth, the Triad and the Totenkopfs would all play a part. The incident shocked everybody in the household, and Thanatos went to great lengths to cover up the part Persephone played in Nyx's death from the other elves. Thanatos, realizing Deidra could move freely in the outside world without elven rules binding her, asked her to find any information from ancient tomes she could find to cure Persephone's mental illness as well as a means to bring back his dead wife. Thanatos's earnestness and deep, unconditional love for his family affected Deidra who was also family-centric, so she promised to help him, and Thanatos arranged for her and her guardians to be smuggled out of the forest so they could begin their search for the tomes. Persephone's and her allies' gambit had paid off, and they could move to the next stage of their plan. Setting the Stage Although Persephone suffered from madness, it didn't detract from her genius. She had grown in power, having learned almost as much about necromancy as her father had by now. She may have been locked away for her own safety while Thanatos waited for Deidra to return with a cure to her "condition", but she still had allies like Jezebeth and Sylevar working for her. Jezebeth helped keep the pressure on Deidra by sending her demonic allies to attack her and her guardians while also having another demon ally, Naga, keeping an eye on Deidra's activities so they'd always be close behind her wherever she went. The tomes which Deidra sought would be needed for later stages of the plan. However, the conspirators had underestimated Deidra's skills as she often vanished seemingly without a trace, forcing Naga to spend weeks searching for her scent. Jezebeth had informed Persephone of a ritual which had to be performed at a specific date for it to work and if the timing wasn't perfect, they'd be back to square one. Because Deidra had become too much of a wild card and couldn't be relied on to be the pawn she was meant to be (or be captured easily without outside help), it was time to take action. Once word reached Jezebeth that Deidra had last been spotted in Etheril, she conversed with Persephone and Sylevar, and they hatched a plan to have Persephone sneak out of the forest and head for Etheril to locate one of the missing tomes while Deidra would locate the other in the meantime. Thanatos, once he learned of his daughter's disappearance, would make sure to move heaven and earth to get her back, so it would help him speed up the plan unknowingly and lead to the desired outcome. Sylevar did as was asked of him and helped free Persephone from her room, helping her leave Illunii without guards or rangers noticing. Persephone began her long journey to Etheril, intent on discovering one of the missing tomes and being reunited with Deidra. One way or another, her plans would succeed although her dark determination to see things through wasn't far from the madness which was eating her mind. The stage for their elaborate scheme had been set, and what they needed was for all the pawns--present and future ones--to move into place. Godslayer Era Springing the Trap More info later. Preparing for Endgame Persephone arrived in Alent with the rest of the kidnappers. She entered the catacombs beneath the city where she met with Drishnek and later helped him perform a ritual which allowed the group, along with Marcus Sarillius whom Drishnek's associates had helped capture, to teleport to a new location to set the next stage of their plan in motion. The party ended up teleporting in Yamato where they managed to board what appeared to be a merchant vessel. However, the ship soon turned to belong to the Blue Dragon pirates and took the group to the pirates' secret hideout, Shipwreck Cove. Despite this sudden turn of events, some of the party members didn't seem to be that concerned and instead waited patiently until they had entered the cove and were taken to the court of Pirate King Kuro Tori. Persephone observed the exchanges between the Pirate King, the courtiers and her group. The two demons, Rahovart and Saleos, were taken to the pirates' dungeons for questioning while the rest of the party members were escorted to their respective inns where they would rest until Kuro Tori summoned them again. As the party split up into smaller groups, Persephone accompanied Gilgamesh and Louhi to a hidden location which turned out to have once been a temple of Gaea but which was now in ruins. There, they used the powers of Dusk and Marcus in conjunction with the necromantic magic of Persephone and two hooded figures to open a rift to the Land of the Dead. They then drew out a soul which entered a rotting carcass which Persephone had brought all the way from Illunii while keeping it out of sight. The soul and the body were a match, and the undead abomination that rose was none other than the resurrected Nyx Barca, Persephone's mother. Persephone welcomed the disoriented Nyx back into the Land of the Living, and Nyx, after realizing what had happened and being overwhelmed by what she had felt before her death, let out an agonized wail while Persephone and her allies looked on with satisfaction. The group, which now included Nyx who was holding the twins as well as Rahovart who was taken along as a slave, hid themselves aboard the Morning Star as it and the other pirate ships Moldy Crow and Seastrider left the Cove in search of Unithien whom a sea serpent had kidnapped during the Battle of Shipwreck Cove. Persephone grew more and more impatient while having to wait in the cargo hold and not being allowed to do anything. She was persuaded by Hiroki Hyuga, the leader of their group, that her time to act would come soon and that in the meantime she should look after her risen mother who would also have a part to play in the grand scheme. By the time the crews located the sea serpent and Unithien in Devilfish Strait and fought against several creatures guarding the strait to free her, Persephone traveled through the Void aboard the Moldy Crow with help from Deidra's sister Kendra Finian who was also one of the conspitators. She wished to be there to confront Unithien once the cleric had been taken to safety and manipulate her to side with her, believing that Unithien would do anything to save the life of her ill mother Varalia Earthhaven. Persephone's predictions were correct: both Unithien and Varalia fled to the Moldy Crow with Captain Uminoko Kawamoto while the crews of the other two ships continued the battle. The necromancer approached the pair as soon as they were alone in the medical bay, trying to appear like she'd seen the error of her ways after getting rid of Jezebeth's influence and that she wanted to make amends for her earlier crimes. Persephone genuinely believed that Unithien, who she knew would play a part in Hiroki's and their associates' plan, would once again fall for her carefully laid trap and continue working for her like she had done when they had travelled to the Cove together with the captured Marcus Sarillius. Kendra stayed close by, watching over Persephone from the shadows, and waited with her for Unithien's eventual return. Death Unithien proved, however, that her time in the strait as the guest of the siren Vellamo, who had sent the sea serpent to kidnap her, had changed her. No longer was she the kind cleric who always preferred a diplomatic solution over violence like she had done in Illunii and Alent; instead she called Persephone's bluff, exclaiming that she would no longer fall for the same trick and let her schemes continue, and viciously attacked the necromancer with her magic, fueled by the shattering of the Eye of Thunder which shattered in the strait at the same time. Persephone was caught off guard by Unithien's violent rejection of her offer and was burned alive by holy flame, ending the necromancer's mad schemes once and for all. Aliases and Nicknames ; Lady Persephone : What she's referred as. ; Queen of Necromancers : A title Persephone had given herself, indicating her desired future as a ruler of powerful necromancers. Appearance Quite beautiful elfess with graceful features, Persephone had her father's dark hair and intelligent, dark eyes. She was dressed in the House of Barca's signature dark blue clothes. Personality and Traits Quite emotional and rebellious for an elf, she grew tired of her father's overprotective attitude and decided to boldly take action which others in the forest would shun: see the outside world. She wanted to experience as much as life has to offer and see different cultures, and had a somewhat bratty attitude because of her sheltered life where she got everything she wanted. Her interactions with demons and Totenkopfs ultimately drove her mad, and she believed herself to be the Queen of a new necromancer nation which she planned to found. Powers and Abilities She had a keen, analytical mind and is somewhat knowledgeable of the dark arts. She was particularly interested in the family tradition of controlling lightning although she was also curious about necromancy, the forbidden art among elves. Relationships Deidra Finian Deidra cared for Persephone's well-being because she cared for Thanatos as well. When she found out about Persephone's madness, she set out to find a cure to it. Unfortunately Persephone and her dark associates ended up manipulating Deidra for their own ends, and ultimately Deidra was set up as a red herring villain when Persephone feigned weakness to lure the Dresdens into trusting her and not Deidra. Geras Sylevar Persephone acknowledges Sylevar's skills and knowledge but nevertheless saw him as inferior to herself because he was not from as prestigious a bloodline as she was. She saw him as a useful tool with which to realize her vision, and Sylevar seemed to have accepted that view. However, Sylevar helped capture Persephone during the Battle of Malperdy to promote his own agenda, making their exact relationship somewhat murky. Jezebeth Persephone and Jezebeth befriended each other when Jezebeth joined the household. The servant's stories intrigued her, and she was also smitten although did her best to hide her growing romantic feelings from her. However, Jezebeth turned out to be a cunning high demon who eventually seduced and turned Persephone into the demon horde's follower, further fueling Persephone's insanity. After this treatment Persephone became willing to do anything to further Jezebeth's goals. Nyx Barca Persephone cared for her parents very much until her insanity began kicking in. She later murdered her mother Nyx with Jezebeth's help and raised her as a living corpse to experiment on the creation of liches in order to give her mother 'peace' after Thanatos's affair with Deidra. Razravkar Dominus Razravkar and Persephone had tension between them from the moment they met. Even when Razravkar showed sympathy towards Persephone while he was under the impression that he was a damsel in distress, he nevertheless was careful around her, especially after he learned of her powers. After the events in Illunii, Razravkar came to view Persephone as nothing but someone who may have been a victim but still deserved death for her actions. Persephone viewed Razravkar as a pathetic mudblood and would've been more than happy to slay him for disobeying her if her allies hadn't convinced her otherwise, which led to a short and uneasy partnership in Malperdy as they worked together. Thanatos Barca Persephone grew more distant from her father as she learned how overprotective of her he was. She sees him as too stubborn to change the ancient ways, which eventually drove her to see the outside world despite his objections. Jezebeth's words eventually swayed Persephone to turn against her father, and she eventually killed him during the skirmish in Illunii in a ritual to open a demon portal. Unithien Greyrain Although Persephone viewed Unithien with disdain due to her being a mudblood and because she dared to oppose her in Illunii, she slowly came to see her in a new light after she learned things about her. Unithien saw Persephone as someone who was dangerous and should be kept locked up although she couldn't help but feel some sympathy towards her initially because of her condition and her deep family ties. However, the time in the strait changed Unithien and made her view Persephone in a much more jaded way, ultimately resulting in her taking action to end the threat Persephone posed once and for all. See also *Deidra Finian *Geras Sylevar *House of Barca *Jezebeth *Razravkar Dominus *Unithien Greyrain Category:Characters Category:Dwarven Triad Category:Eastern Horde Category:Elves Category:House of Barca Category:Libaterra Category:Third Age Category:Totenkopfs